A young couple has paid $1.65 million for a two-bedroom terrace in Stanmore after a competitive auction, beating another couple who were seeking to buy their first home.
The period property in Aubrey Street features decorative arches, ceiling roses, a backyard and an outdoor dining area. It had initially been advertised with a guide of $1.5 million, which was later increased to $1.525 million after a pre-auction offer was received.
Four parties registered for the auction, although only two took part in the bidding. The opening offer was $1.45 million, with the price rising in small increments before reaching $1.635 million.
At that point, the reserve was reduced and the property was declared on the market. Bidding continued until the final price reached $1.65 million, which had been the vendor’s original target.
BresicWhitney Inner West selling agent Blake Lowry said all the interested buyers had been young couples, most of them looking to purchase their first home.
The successful bidders had sold their apartment during the week, allowing them to move from the North Sydney area to Sydney’s inner west. The vendor had owned the terrace for about 30 years and was moving to live closer to her sister.
“This sort of property is very rare for Stanmore, two bedrooms at that price point, so that is reasonably popular. Stanmore is a low turnover area,” Mr Lowry said.
He said limited supply was helping to support the area despite the effect of higher borrowing costs. The Reserve Bank raised interest rates to a 15-year high of 4.6 per cent on Tuesday.
“Interest rates affect this price point … I think it is a factor for buyers. But this market, with limited stock on the market, buyers’ preference is just finding the right property first. They don’t have a lot of options,” Mr Lowry said.
The Stanmore sale was among 521 Sydney properties scheduled for auction during the week. A preliminary clearance rate of 53 per cent was recorded from 307 reported results, although 87 auctions were withdrawn and the figures were affected by the long weekend.
The early result was slightly above the previous week’s preliminary rate of 51 per cent, but was based on relatively low volumes.
